John Cena Gives His Take On His Reputation For Burying Talent
John Cena has discussed the differences between himself and Roman Reigns and questioned his reputation for burying talent in WWE.
‘Super Cena’ was the nickname given to the seemingly unbeatable John Cena during his halcyon days at the top of WWE. As the sixteen-time champion of the world has wound down his in-ring career, however, the wins have become less frequent and it was the same story at WrestleMania 39 when Cena lost to Austin Theory.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, John Cena compared his approach to making new stars to that of Roman Reigns and says while The Tribal Chief is able to take several other stars with him, Cena had to focus on his opponents one at a time:
“I love that Roman did it his way. He did it his own way by crafting his own personality. He did it as a way by redefining what it is to be at the tip of the spear. He is there selectively. He has made himself exclusive and in doing so, he’s brought like eight people with him. He’s allowed the whole Bloodline to get over. So with me, if you put me in that conversation, I could only help the person that I was working with while I was working with him.
“The reputation I had in the sauce while I was in it was that I buried talent because I would really invest my wholeheartedness. I sat with Austin Theory for like 10 hours. Not wasted a day, invested a day, to talk about our why, like, what’s our story going to be? I would do that with everyone. I live it. My heart is on the plate.
“But after they were with me, they didn’t take that energy with them, but I gave it to the next guy. So okay, who’s next? It was AJ and now it’s Kevin Owens. Alright, ‘Kevin, come here. We’re gonna sit down for two weeks and just talk about stuff. Then we’re gonna go out there and try some crazy stuff, see what works, and then put our best foot forward.’ Kevin’s done, Sami, no problem. What Roman does, just being affiliated with his energy, he gets so many people over.
“That’s something I could never do, ever, period. Like, you’re with me and you got a chance when you’re there, but a lot of times you went off to do stuff that wasn’t looked at in the same way, and then the perception of the audience is, ‘Oh my god, he buried him.’ Winning and losing doesn’t matter. I haven’t won a match in five years. It doesn’t matter.
“Roman’s ability to be that good, to spread his energy so thin that he makes other talents, and do it exclusive. That’s the difference between Ric. Ric was always the centerpiece. Roman has off days. but he’s still there, like, his presence is so great. I think that’s never been done. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Roman Reigns will share his presence once again at Night of Champions when he teams with Solo Sikoa to challenge Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for the WWE Tag Team Championship.